Golden Nuggets July 23, 2010
Numbers 21, Deuteronomy 2-3

Whose Fault Is It Anyway? Part 1

The State of Our World

Who’s Responsible for This Mess We Call Life, and Who’s Responsible for Cleaning It Up? 

Who’s Responsible for This World? 

The whole world is at war spiritually.  When you’re in battle, you need to know who’s got your back, who’s in front of you, and who’s taking responsibility for what happens.  You need to know, “Who’s Responsible?”  Let’s look at three Biblical battles to understand who’s responsible for attaining victory in this world:   Israel’s battle against an unnamed Canaanite aggressor, against King Sihon and against King Og.

·         In Numbers 21, verses 1-3, a Canaanite king attacks the Israelites and captures some of the people.  Because of that, Israel makes this vow to YHWH:  If You, YHWH, will deliver these people into our hands we will totally destroy their cities.  YHWH listens to the Israelites, gives them the Canaanites and the Israelites destroy the Canaanites and their towns.  So, Israel promises to destroy those who attacked them if God promises them the victory.  God promises Israel the victory and Israel follows through.  They are responsible together. 

·         Later, in verse 21, Israel asks for safe passage through the territory of King Sihon.  Instead, King Sihon attacks Israel, and Israel defeats him soundly.  There is no mention of God’s involvement at this point.  But in Deuteronomy 2:32-33, Scripture says, “When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz, YHWH our God delivered him over to us and we struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army.” Thus, Israel and God destroyed Sihon together. 

·         In Numbers 21, verse 33, King Og attacks Israel.  YHWH says to Moshe “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, with his whole army and his land.  Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.”  So Israel wipes them out.  Again, they did it together.

·         Deuteronomy 3:3-6 clearly states that God and Israel together defeated both Og and Sihon.  Every action was done in partnership, in covenant.  Victory was dependent upon both parties, and both parties did their part to allow the other to have that victory.  They were accountable, responsible, to each other. 

Prophetic Pictures

Let’s look at this a little more prophetically.  Yeshua, on the cross, destroyed the enemy’s power, yet we are responsible for winning the battles.  It’s the same partnership described above.  When YHWH handed the enemy over to the Israelites, He handed them a defeated vow.  But, when the Israelites encountered the enemy in battle, they had to fight hard to win the victory. 

From other passages, we know that at least on one occasion, not one of the Israelites was killed.  Perhaps this was the normal procedure.  At the end of Yeshua’s life He said, “not one of them (His disciples) was lost except for the son of perdition,” (John 17:12) When we are obedient to the Father, living according to His Will, not one of us will be defeated.  We will each win.  That is the picture, that is the promise, and that is our reward.  (Paul died victoriously.  So did Stephen.  John lived victoriously.)  When Yeshua died upon the cross, He defeated the enemy once and for all.  At that point, He handed the enemy over to us to conquer, to route.  He commissioned us to share the Gospel with people all over the world.  We are responsible together.

Response and Initiation

In each of these battles, Israel was attacked.  She was not the initiator.  But later, when Israel removed the enemy’s presence from God’s Land, she attacked.  Likewise, our spiritual battles often begin when we are attacked. But, we too need to initiate action when God calls us to remove His enemy from His Land.  At that time, we are called to move forward with great zeal, great confidence and great power, knowing who’s got oue back and who’s leading the way.  God already defeated the foe.  He did that upon the cross at Calvary.  He expects us to route the enemy from His Land and from His People.  Israel was called to destroy the enemy completely, to take no prisoners, to level the cities, and to demolish the strongholds.  So are we.  God gets the glory, Yeshua gets the glory, and we, too, get the glory.  Those in service to the King get the glory for the victory the King receives.  We get to occupy the Land forever.  God, before life began, already gave us the victory. 

How do we Battle?

We battle most effectively through prayer and praise, through applying the Word of God to our lives, through evangelism, through encountering God, through the Holy Spirit, through ministering, through humility, and teaching, and, especially, through Yeshua’s Blood and His Love.  Let us always remember to wear God’s Blood/Love like armor, to be so filled with His Love and His Glory, that we conquer the enemy every time we come into a room.  We can do that, you know.  He’s already given us the victory.  He said so.

Lord, just for today, and just for tomorrow, and just for everyday, we ask to be so filled with Your Love and Your Glory and Your Beauty, so that as we walk through the daily activities of our lives, we vanquish the enemy by Your Presence within us.  For You Have Already Given Us the Victory!  Now, Help Us To Take The Land!  And help us to remember, how important you consider our participation in this battle to be.  Help us to know how much it means to your heart.  In Yeshua’s Holy Name I pray!  Amen and amen.

Whose Responsibility Is It?

It is ours, God’s and God’s people, together.  Be very zealous my friends, for our zeal touches the heart of God.  It can move mountains for God’s Kingdom.  Shalom!  Shalom! 

And wait for Part 2 of this study next week as we consider our profound oneness in God.  It is the place within us where “Whose Responsibility Is It?” becomes, simply, “Who Are We?”